Thursday, May 31, 2012

A little while ago, Mr. Lee at Daycraft generously sent us two notebooks and an executive planner for review! I tried the executive planner, reviewed it, and loved it. Here is the entire package of goodies received:

I live in Texas, where currently, pretty much everything is dry and brown and miserable looking. I'm still adjusting to this drought, okay? In the meantime, I have a bit of green in my life...

Of course, I kept this sticker! It peeled off perfectly from the wrapper.

Ok... so it's a little bright. Blame the sunlight. But it TOTALLY looks like a watermelon sitting in the garden!

The back is elegantly stamped with "Daycraft"

I cracked up when I read the description of this notebook on the paper that bound it. It says "distinctive fruit design" - I think that's so cute and so funny! It indeed is a distinctive and very unique design - the outside resembles a watermelon rind! As soon as I saw it on Daycraft's website ages ago, I fell in love and I thought to myself, why aren't there more notebooks like this?! The inside cover looks like the inside of watermelon with seeds and everything, and yes, the little felt book mark looks like a watermelon sprig. It's SO CUTE.

Sweet little sprig, you warm my heart.

The pages are lined with dark grey ruling - not harsh on the eyes at all. They are also not so dark that letters disappear when written over them. I like lines that provide guidance, but do not force me to write only between them.

It makes me think of watermelon Jolly Ranchers! *drool*

The Juicy notebook is 106 mm x 150 mm. It's a perfect portable, pockety-ish size. Speaking of pockets and portability, the whole notebook is flexible, and has an easy to clean cover. That said, I think this notebook would be outstanding in a larger size!! Please, Daycraft, hear my plea!

There are little fruit drawings on the corners of the pages as well, which I think is an adorable touch added by Daycraft. There are melons, and cherries, and more!

Like a stamp!

I was very impressed with the paper's performance. I sampled a few fountain pens, gel ink pens, ballpoints, and a pencil, as well as a Sharpie. I did not see any feathering with fountain pens tested. Nothing bled through except the Sharpie, and even that was minimal compared to what Sharpies usually do. The fountain pen ink shows through but it's also minimal. The paper is smooth but not coated nor glossy, so this is great paper for those who like a little bit of feedback, and for those fountain pens that seem to skip on glossy paper (like my Vanishing Point). Overall, I am a fan of this paper. It's perfect for any use (besides coloring the pages with Sharpies)!

Well, this was taken at night, hence the color difference. The paper isn't this yellow, it's just my terrible lighting.

What I really want to use this for is my daily scribbles and notes. I always keep a small, portable notebook in my purse and my current one is almost done and I have been wondering what to use next. I had briefly considered just using my Blackberry for keeping track of all notes but I end up preferring to write things down instead. That's a good thing, right? :) A flexible notebook is ideal for my purse because it can bend as I throw it around, and won't become battered and ruined.

Certified purse safe.

So I have been using this little one in my purse for a few weeks now, and it's holding up wonderfully. The round edges protects it from looking dog-eared, and I love when people eye it when I pull it out! Clearly, they are envious. I cannot blame them.

Overall
I am really impressed with both of the products I have reviewed from Daycraft (this, and the Executive Pocket Diary). These are really nice notebooks. They are very cute, they have great paper that takes fountain pen ink, and is all around a high quality notebook. I very much enjoy unique notebooks as well, and this one definitely falls into that category. I also think these notebooks would make great gifts! If you don't care for the watermelon (although I'd have to say you're insane if that's the case), there's also a pineapple, strawberry, honeydew melon, and orange Juicy notebook!

**I was provided one or more of these products for review, but all opinions are my own!